| 1 | 1 | | 85R1626 MCK-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Wu H.B. No. 702 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to a system for assessing the potential risk of harm to |
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| 8 | 8 | | children in child protective services. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 40, Human Resources Code, |
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| 11 | 11 | | is amended by adding Section 40.0529 to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | Sec. 40.0529. RISK OF HARM ASSESSMENT. (a) The department |
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| 13 | 13 | | shall establish a system for assessing the risk of harm to a child |
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| 14 | 14 | | from abuse or neglect for each child who is the subject of a report |
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| 15 | 15 | | of abuse or neglect or of an active child protective services case. |
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| 16 | 16 | | The system shall provide a score for each case on a scale from 1 for |
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| 17 | 17 | | a child at the lowest risk of harm to 10 for a child at the highest |
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| 18 | 18 | | risk of harm. |
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| 19 | 19 | | (b) The department, with assistance from the Bush School of |
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| 20 | 20 | | Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, the Lyndon |
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| 21 | 21 | | B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas, and |
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| 22 | 22 | | the Graduate College of Social Work at the University of Houston, |
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| 23 | 23 | | shall study child protective services cases to identify factors |
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| 24 | 24 | | that indicate a risk of child abuse or neglect and develop objective |
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| 25 | 25 | | criteria to be used in the risk of harm assessment. |
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| 26 | 26 | | (c) In assessing the risk of harm to a child from abuse or |
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| 27 | 27 | | neglect, the department shall consider: |
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| 28 | 28 | | (1) the risk of harm a parent poses to a child who |
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| 29 | 29 | | remains in the child's home, including: |
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| 30 | 30 | | (A) the likelihood of the child's death or |
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| 31 | 31 | | serious injury; and |
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| 32 | 32 | | (B) the likelihood of serious psychological harm |
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| 33 | 33 | | to the child; |
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| 34 | 34 | | (2) the potential psychological harm to a child who |
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| 35 | 35 | | remains in the child's home; |
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| 36 | 36 | | (3) the potential psychological harm to a child who is |
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| 37 | 37 | | removed from the child's home; |
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| 38 | 38 | | (4) the risk of harm to a child who is returned to the |
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| 39 | 39 | | child's home; and |
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| 40 | 40 | | (5) the services required to address the child's |
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| 41 | 41 | | needs, including the child's medical and mental health care needs. |
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| 42 | 42 | | (d) After the department assigns a risk of harm assessment |
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| 43 | 43 | | score to a child's case, the child protective services caseworker |
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| 44 | 44 | | for the child's case may adjust the score by one point based on the |
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| 45 | 45 | | caseworker's knowledge and experience with the child. |
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| 46 | 46 | | (e) The department shall complete a risk of harm assessment |
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| 47 | 47 | | for each child protective services case before a court holds a full |
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| 48 | 48 | | adversary hearing on the case and shall periodically reassess the |
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| 49 | 49 | | risk of harm to the child. |
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| 50 | 50 | | (f) The department shall use the risk of harm assessment |
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| 51 | 51 | | score when making decisions relating to: |
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| 52 | 52 | | (1) caseworker assignments; |
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| 53 | 53 | | (2) parental access to the child; |
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| 54 | 54 | | (3) attorney assignments; and |
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| 55 | 55 | | (4) caseload limits for caseworkers. |
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| 56 | 56 | | (g) The department may only assign an experienced |
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| 57 | 57 | | caseworker to a child protective services case that has been |
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| 58 | 58 | | assigned a high risk of harm assessment score. |
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| 59 | 59 | | (h) The risk of harm assessment score is inadmissible in |
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| 60 | 60 | | court as evidence. |
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| 61 | 61 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 62 | 62 | | to a child protective services case started on or after the |
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| 63 | 63 | | effective date of this Act. A child protective services case |
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| 64 | 64 | | started before that date is governed by the law in effect on the |
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| 65 | 65 | | date the case began, and the former law is continued in effect for |
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| 66 | 66 | | that purpose. |
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| 67 | 67 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |
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